Beverage cartridge

ABSTRACT

A method, system and cartridge for forming a beverage includes a cartridge having a container defining an interior space, a lid, a filter, and a beverage medium contained in the interior space. The filter may be attached to the lid only, and extend into the interior space to separate first and second chambers of the cartridge. The filter may hold the beverage medium and be arranged so that, when the lid is removed from the container, e.g., by peeling the lid from the container, the filter and beverage medium are removed together with the lid.

This application is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No.12/874,459, filed Sep. 2, 2010, which is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

1. Field of Invention

This invention relates to a beverage cartridge to be used with abeverage forming system, such a single-serve coffee maker.

2. Related Art

Cartridges for use with beverage forming machines are well known, andmay include one or more filters as well as a beverage medium, such asground coffee beans, tea leaves, etc. In some cartridges, the filter islocated between two or more portions of an interior space of thecartridge, e.g., one portion in which a beverage medium is located, anda second portion into which liquid that has passed through the filtermay flow. An example of one such cartridge is disclosed in U.S. Pat.Nos. 5,840,189 and/or 6,607,762, which may be used with a beveragemaking machine like that described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,398,726. (U.S.Pat. Nos. 5,840,189; 6,607,762; and 7,398,726 are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.) In use, the beverage forming machineintroduces a fluid into the cartridge to interact with the beveragemedium. In some machines, a piercing outlet needle of the machine isused to pierce a surface of the cartridge (e.g., a bottom wall of thecartridge container or the cartridge lid) permitting the liquid that hasinteracted with the beverage medium to flow through the filter and exitthe cartridge.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The inventors have appreciated that many beverage cartridges do notpermit the easy separation of beverage cartridge components after use,e.g., for recycling and/or composting. For example, commonly availablebeverage cartridges include metallic components (such as a foil),polymer components (such as polystyrene, polypropylene, EVOH,polyethylene, and others), a paper component (such as a porous paperfilter), and/or an organic plant material component (such as coffeegrounds or tea leaves). The metallic and/or polymer components aretypically included to preserve the quality of the beverage mediumcontained in the cartridge, e.g., to protect coffee grounds or tealeaves from moisture, oxidation or other environmental conditions thatmight ruin the beverage medium's ability to make a quality drink. As aresult, many sealed beverage cartridges are able to maintain coffeegrounds, tea leaves or other ingredients fresh for weeks or months. Incontrast, a porous or permeable container, such as a conventional teabag-type device or coffee pod, is incapable of maintaining roast andground coffee fresh for much more than a few days or a week even whenexposed to the relatively benign conditions of the typical kitchencabinet. Although effective in maintaining freshness of a beveragemedium, the way in which the various components of impermeable beveragecartridges are constructed can often make the separation of thecomponents difficult and/or messy. For example, in some coffeecartridges, an attempt to remove the coffee grounds for composting afteruse of the cartridge can result in grounds being scattered or otherwisereleased in an uncontrolled manner. This results in many users beingdiscouraged from recycling or composting cartridge components, even ifthe components are readily degradable or recyclable.

The inventors have developed methods and apparatus for making and usinga beverage cartridge that, at least in some embodiments, allows for theeasier and more mess-free separation of at least some components of acartridge. For example, in accordance with one aspect of the invention,a cartridge including a container and a foil lid covering an opening ofthe container may have the filter joined to the lid so that removal ofthe lid from the container also removes the filter and spent coffeegrounds or other beverage media together with the lid. Thus, after usingthe cartridge to form a beverage, a user may tear the lid from thecontainer to remove not only the lid, but also the filter and coffeegrounds. Since the coffee grounds may be contained in the filter, thegrounds may be better contained, reducing any potential mess that may bemade during the separation process. With the lid separated, thecontainer may be recycled or composted, e.g., the container may be madeof a recyclable and/or compostable polymer that must be separated fromthe foil lid and other components for proper recycling. Similarly, theseparated coffee grounds or other beverage media may be composted orrecycled in another way.

Some aspects of the invention also provide for a beverage cartridge thatallows for piercing both inlet and outlet openings in the lid of thecartridge while having a simplified interior construction. Some priorcartridge arrangements that permit both inlet and outlet piercing of alid, such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,607,762 or 7,607,385,have relatively complicated internal structures and/or containerarrangements. For example, in one illustrative embodiment, a cartridgein accordance with aspects of the invention may include a simple,cup-shaped container, a cup-shaped filter and a planar lid whileallowing for both inlet and outlet openings to be formed in the lid. Inthis embodiment, there is no need for a complex structure, whether forthe container, filter or lid. Instead, a simple filter may be attachedonly to the lid, and the lid attached only to the container, enablingrelatively simple separation of these components after use.

In one illustrative embodiment, a cartridge for use in forming abeverage includes a container having an interior space, a rim attachedto the container and defining an opening to the interior space, and alid attached to the rim and closing the opening of the container. Afilter may be attached to the lid at a periphery located away from therim with the filter extending from the periphery into the interior spaceand separating a first chamber from a second chamber in the interiorspace. The filter may be unattached to the container, e.g., in areasaway from the rim. A beverage medium may be located in the interiorspace and arranged to interact with liquid introduced into the containerto form a beverage. For example, the beverage medium may be located inthe first chamber so that liquid that interacts with the medium to forma beverage may flow through the filter and into the second chamber. Thelid may have a first portion that is pierceable by a beverage machine toaccommodate an inflow of pressurized liquid into the interior space toform a beverage. In some arrangements, the lid may have a second portionthat is pierceable by a beverage machine to accommodate an outflow ofbeverage from the second chamber. For example, the first portion may belocated at a center of the lid and inside the periphery, and the secondportion may have an annular shape around the first portion. In anotherarrangement, the container may have a surface, e.g., at the bottom ofthe container, arranged to be pierced by a beverage machine to permitthe beverage to exit the interior space from the bottom of thecontainer.

The cartridge may include beverage medium in the first chamber and/or inthe second chamber. For example, the cartridge may include roast, groundcoffee in the first chamber and a creamer in the second chamber,allowing the cartridge to form a cream-and-coffee beverage. A flowdistributor may be located between the first portion of the lid and thebeverage medium, e.g., to help prevent contact of a fluid inlet with thebeverage medium located in the first chamber. This may help preventfouling of a liquid inlet that might be caused if the beverage medium ispermitted to contact the inlet.

The cartridge may have a variety of different arrangements, e.g., thecontainer may have a frustoconical shape with a sidewall and a bottom,the filter may have a fluted or conical shape, and the filter may beattached only to the lid. The lid may be peelably removable by hand fromthe rim, so that the filter and the beverage medium (if in the filter)are removable from the container together with the lid upon removal ofthe lid from the rim. In another embodiment, the container may have asidewall with a spout feature, e.g., that helps to direct beverage inthe cartridge to an outlet and/or helps a user peel a lid from the rim.

In another illustrative embodiment, a method for forming a beverageincludes providing a cartridge having a container with an interior spacehaving first and second chambers, a rim defining an opening to theinterior space, a lid attached to the rim and closing the opening of thecontainer, and a filter attached to the lid at a periphery that isspaced inwardly and away from the rim. The filter may extend from theperiphery into the interior space and separate the first and secondchambers, e.g., so that liquid in the first chamber must flow through apermeable portion of the filter to enter the second chamber. A beveragemedium may be located in the interior space and interact with liquidintroduced into the container to form a beverage. The lid may be piercednear a center of the lid and away from the rim to form a first openingto access the first chamber, and liquid may be introduced into the firstchamber via the first opening. A beverage may be formed by interactionof the liquid with the beverage medium, and the lid may be pierced toform a second opening to access the second chamber and remove thebeverage from the cartridge via the second opening.

The method may include other steps, such as engaging the rim with aclamping mechanism prior to introducing liquid into the first chamber.This may permit a beverage machine to securely hold the cartridge andform a seal with the cartridge to resist leakage of beverage. In oneembodiment, the lid may be pierced to form a third opening to vent theinterior space, e.g., to allow the cartridge to fill with liquid and/orto drain the beverage from the cartridge. The lid may be approximatelyplanar and be positioned in a downward facing orientation, e.g., withthe container above the lid and the lid in a plane that is transverse toa horizontal plane. In one embodiment, the plane is at an angle of about20 degrees to 70 degrees to the horizontal plane. This invertedorientation of the cartridge may help better wet the beverage mediumand/or aid in draining the beverage from the cartridge. For example, thefirst opening where liquid is introduced into the cartridge may bepositioned above the second opening where beverage exits the cartridge.

In yet another embodiment, a method of manufacturing a cartridge for usewith a beverage brewing machine includes providing a container having aninterior space and a rim defining an opening into the interior space,attaching a filter to a lid at a periphery, and attaching the lid to therim to close the opening after the filter is attached to the lid. Thefilter may be attached to the lid such that the periphery is spaced awayfrom the rim and the filter extends from the periphery into the interiorspace and separates a first chamber from a second chamber in theinterior space. A beverage medium may be provided in the interior space,e.g., in the first chamber, and be arranged to interact with liquidintroduced into the container to form a beverage. The lid may have firstand second portions that are pierceable by a beverage machine torespectively accommodate an inflow of liquid into the first chamber toform a beverage and accommodate an outflow of beverage from the secondchamber.

In another embodiment, a beverage system may include a beverage machinecomprising a cartridge receiver arranged to receive a cartridge, a fluidinlet arranged to introduce liquid into the cartridge via a firstopening in the cartridge, and a fluid outlet arranged to receive abeverage from the cartridge via a second opening in the cartridge. Thecartridge may be arranged to be received by the cartridge receiver ofthe beverage machine and include a container having an interior spaceand a rim defining an opening to the interior space, a lid attached tothe rim and closing the opening of the container, and a filter attachedto the lid at a periphery located away from the rim. The filter mayextend from the periphery into the interior space and separate a firstchamber from a second chamber in the interior space. A beverage mediummay be located in the interior space and be arranged to interact withliquid introduced into the container to form a beverage. The lid mayhave first portion that is pierceable by the beverage machine toaccommodate an inflow of liquid via the fluid inlet into the firstchamber to form a beverage, and a second portion that is pierceable bythe beverage machine to accommodate an outflow of beverage from thecartridge to the fluid outlet. The beverage machine may include aclamping mechanism that engages the rim of the cartridge, and/or a ventto vent the interior space of the cartridge via a third opening in thelid. The lid may be approximately planar and the cartridge receiver maybe arranged to position the lid in a downward facing orientation withthe container above the lid and the lid in a plane that is transverse toa horizontal plane, e.g., so that the fluid inlet is positioned abovethe fluid outlet.

In another embodiment, a cartridge for use in forming a beverage mayinclude a container having an interior space, a rim attached to thecontainer and defining an opening to the interior space, a lid attachedto the rim and closing the opening of the container, and a flowdistributor attached to the lid at a periphery located away from therim. The flow distributor may extend from the periphery into theinterior space and separate a first area inside the flow distributorfrom a second area in the interior space. The flow distributor may beunattached to the container and arranged to alter flow of liquidintroduced into the first area. A beverage medium may be included in theinterior space (e.g., in the second area) and arranged to interact withliquid introduced into the container to form a beverage. The lid mayhave a first portion that is pierceable by a beverage machine toaccommodate an inflow of liquid into the first area, and a secondportion that is pierceable by a beverage machine to accommodate anoutflow of beverage from the cartridge. In one embodiment, a filter maybe attached to the lid at a filter periphery located away from the rimso that the filter extends from the filter periphery into the interiorspace and separates a first chamber from a second chamber in theinterior space. The flow distributor may be located in the firstchamber, e.g., to help distribute the flow of liquid over the beveragemedium.

In one embodiment, the cartridge may further include a filter attachedto the lid at a filter periphery located away from the rim. The filtermay extend from the filter periphery into the interior space andseparate a first chamber from a second chamber in the interior space.The beverage medium may be in the first chamber (and/or the secondchamber) and the flow distributor may be located between the firstportion of the lid and the beverage medium, e.g., to help distributeincoming liquid relative to the beverage medium. The lid may be peelablyremovable by hand from the rim, and the filter and the flow distributormay be attached to the lid such that the filter, the flow distributorand the beverage medium are removable from the container together withthe lid upon removal of the lid from the rim.

These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Aspects of the invention are described below with reference to thefollowing drawings in which like numerals reference like elements, andwherein:

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of a cartridge in accordance withaspects of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the cartridge of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the cartridge of FIG. 1 after asurface of the cartridge is pierced by a piercing element;

FIG. 4 shows a side cross-sectional view of the cartridge of FIG. 1 inan inverted orientation with the lid below the container and in a planethat is transverse to a horizontal plane;

FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of another illustrative embodiment of acartridge in accordance with an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 6 shows an exploded view of yet another illustrative embodiment ofa cartridge in accordance with an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 7 shows an exploded view of yet another illustrative embodiment ofa cartridge in accordance with an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 8 shows an exploded view of yet another illustrative embodiment ofa cartridge in accordance with an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 9 shows an exploded view of yet another illustrative embodiment ofa cartridge in accordance with an aspect of the invention;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a beverage machine usable in accordancewith aspects of the invention;

FIG. 11 shows a schematic diagram of components of a brew chamber of abeverage machine in an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of components of a beverage machineusable in accordance with aspects of the invention;

FIG. 13 shows steps in a method of manufacturing a cartridge inaccordance with aspects of the invention; and

FIG. 14 shows steps in a method of preparing a beverage in accordancewith aspects of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It should be understood that aspects of the invention are describedherein with reference to the figures, which show illustrativeembodiments. The illustrative embodiments described herein are notnecessarily intended to show all embodiments in accordance with theinvention, but rather are used to describe a few illustrativeembodiments. Thus, aspects of the invention are not intended to beconstrued narrowly in view of the illustrative embodiments. In addition,it should be understood that aspects of the invention may be used aloneor in any suitable combination with other aspects of the invention.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a side cross-sectional view and an explodedperspective view, respectively, of an illustrative cartridge 10 thatincorporates one or more aspects of the invention. The cartridge 10 maybe used in a beverage machine to form any suitable beverage such as tea,coffee, other infusion-type beverages, beverages formed from a liquid orpowdered concentrate, etc. Thus, the cartridge 10 may contain anysuitable beverage medium 20, e.g., ground coffee, tea leaves, dry herbaltea, powdered beverage concentrate, dried fruit extract or powder,powdered or liquid concentrated bouillon or other soup, powdered orliquid medicinal materials (such as powdered vitamins, drugs or otherpharmaceuticals, nutriceuticals, etc.), and/or other beverage-makingmaterial (such as powdered milk or other creamers, sweeteners,thickeners, flavorings, and so on). In one illustrative embodiment, thecartridge 10 contains a beverage medium 20 that is configured for usewith a machine that forms coffee and/or tea beverages, however, aspectsof the invention are not limited in this respect.

In this illustrative embodiment, the cartridge 10 includes a container12 that includes an interior space 14 having a first chamber 14 a and asecond chamber 14 b that are separated by a filter 30. It should beunderstood, however, that other additional chambers in the interiorspace and/or sub-portions or areas of the first and second chambers, maybe provided in other embodiments. For example, it is possible for thecartridge to have three spaces that separated by two filters (e.g., afirst filter separates two portions of a first chamber and a secondfilter separates the first and second chambers), and so on. In anotherembodiment, the first or second chamber may be separated into twoportions by a venturi or other feature that introduces air into abeverage. Thus, the first and/or second chambers may be divided orotherwise separated into two or more portions or areas by filters,walls, dividers, passageways, and other features.

In this embodiment, the container 12 may have a frustoconical cup shapewith a sidewall 17 and an opening 13. However, in other embodiments, thecontainer 12 may have a fluted, conical, or cylindrical shape, may be inthe form of a square or rectangular cup, a domed cup, a sphere orpartial sphere, or other suitable form, may have a fluted, corrugated,or otherwise shaped sidewall, and so on. Also, the container 12 need notnecessarily have a defined shape, as is the case with some beveragesachets and pods. For example, although the container 12 in thisembodiment has a relatively rigid and/or resilient construction so thatthe container 12 tends to maintain its shape, the container 12 could bemade to have a more compliant and/or deformable arrangement, e.g., likea sachet container made from a sheet of deformable material. Thus, aninterior space defined by the container 12 may be formed only after thecontainer material is formed around a beverage medium, filter and/orother cartridge components, similar to when two filter paper layers(container material) are joined together around a charge of coffeegrounds to form a pod or other form of cartridge.

If the container 12 includes an opening 13, the opening 13 may be closedby a lid 38, e.g., a foil and polymer laminate material that is attachedto a rim 19 of the container 12. (Although in this embodiment the rim 19is arranged as an annular flange-like element, the rim 19 may bearranged in other ways. For example, the rim 19 may be the top edge ofthe sidewall 17 without any flange element.) The container 12 and/or thelid 38 may provide a barrier to moisture and/or gases, such as oxygen.For example, the container 12 may be made of a polymer laminate, e.g.,formed from a sheet including a layer of polystyrene or polypropyleneand a layer of EVOH and/or other barrier material, such as a metallicfoil. Such an arrangement may provide suitable protection for thebeverage medium 20, e.g., from unwanted exposure from moisture, oxygenand/or other materials. It should be understood, however, that thecontainer 12 and/or the lid 38 may be made of other materials orcombinations of materials, such as biopolymers, compostable polymers,paper, foils, etc.

In accordance with an aspect of the invention, the filter 30 may beattached to the lid 38 at a periphery 32 that is spaced inwardly andaway from the rim 19. In addition, the filter 30 may extend from theperiphery 32 at least partially into the interior space 14. As mentionedabove, the filter 30 may be arranged between the first and secondchambers 14 a and 14 b of the interior space 14 so that liquid in thefirst chamber 14 a of the interior space (e.g., that interacts withbeverage medium 20) flows through the filter 30 and toward the secondchamber 14 b of the interior space 14 before exiting the container 12.The filter 30 may function to remove materials over a certain size froma liquid, e.g., may remove coffee grounds from liquid in the firstchamber 14 a, allowing a coffee beverage to pass through the filter 30to the second chamber 14 b. For example, the filter may include a pieceof filter paper that is arranged to allow a liquid and dissolved and/orsuspended materials of a certain size to pass, yet prevent relativelylarge particles from flowing through the filter. Of course, the filter30 may have multiple stages, e.g., a coarse filter portion that filtersout relatively large particles, followed by a fine filter portion thatfilters relatively smaller particles, and so on. In addition, the filter30 may include one or more portions that function to filter liquidpassing through the filter 30, as well as portions that are impermeableor otherwise restrict flow. Thus, the filter 30 may include two or moreseparate components, if desired. For example, the filter 30 may includea rigid, impermeable plastic sleeve that is attached to the lid 38 atthe periphery 32. At a location away from the lid 38, a porous filterpaper may be attached to the sleeve. Thus, not all portions of thefilter need be permeable to liquids. The filter 30 may also have areaswith different permeability, e.g., to help direct flow toward one ormore areas of the filter 30. For example, regions of the filter 30 nearthe lid 38 in FIG. 1 may have a relatively lower permeability ascompared to regions further away from the lid 38. This may helpencourage flow through the beverage medium 20 toward lower regions ofthe filter 30, potentially improving the dissolution of materials in themedium 20 into the liquid.

The filter 30 may also, or alternately, function to help prevent themovement of materials from the second chamber 14 b to the first chamber14 a. For example, the cartridge 10 may include a beverage medium 20 inthe second chamber 14 b and no beverage medium 20 in the first chamber14 a. In this case, the filter 30 may help prevent contact of thebeverage medium 20 with a needle or other liquid inlet that pierces thelid 38 to introduce water or other liquid into the cartridge 10. Forexample, some beverage media 20, such as powdered drink mixes, can clogor otherwise foul an inlet needle if allowed to contact the needle. Thefilter 30 may help prevent such contact, helping to maintain properoperation of the cartridge and preparation of a beverage.

In some embodiments, the filter 30 may be the only element in theinterior space 14 that separates the first and second chambers 14 a and14 b (as in the FIGS. 1-3 embodiment). In other arrangements, othercomponents, such as walls, ribs, or other structures in addition to thefilter 30, may physically separate two or more portions of the interiorspace 14 from each other. However, regardless of the manner in which thefilter is arranged, a permeable portion of the filter 30 may be the onlycomponent that separates or divides two or more portions of the interiorspace 14 in a flow-wise sense, e.g., liquid may need to flow through thepermeable portion of the filter 30 to pass from the first chamber 14 ato the second chamber 14 b.

In this illustrative embodiment, the filter 30 may have a substantiallyfrustoconical shape with fluted or pleated sidewalls and a generallyflat bottom 31, as shown. However, the filter 30 may have any suitableshape, such as a cylindrical shape, a square cup shape, a domed shape, aflat sheet, or other. The filter 30 may be the attached to the lid 38 inany suitable way, such as by an adhesive, thermal welding, ultrasonicwelding, chemical bonding, crimping or other mechanical bonding, etc. Aswill be understood, the shape of the periphery 32 may depend on theshape of the filter, at least at an upper end of the filter 30. In thisembodiment, the periphery 32 has a circular shape, but oval,rectangular, triangular, irregular and other shapes are possible. Inthis illustrative embodiment, the filter 30 may include a permeablefilter paper made of a combination of polypropylene and cellulosematerials and may be attached to the lid 38 at an upper portion of thefilter 30 by thermal welding. As can be seen in FIGS. 1-3, the upperportion of the filter 30 that is attached to the lid 38 may have anannular, or washer-like shape that extends radially outwardly as shownfrom the periphery 32 (or inwardly in other embodiments), but suchradial extension is not required. In some embodiments, the portion ofthe filter attached to the lid 38 may extend radially outwardly from theperiphery to, and over, the rim 19 such that part of the filter 30 issandwiched between the lid 38 and the rim 19.

When using the cartridge 10 to form a beverage, the lid 38 and/or thecontainer 12 may be pierced to introduce liquid into the cartridge andreceive beverage from the cartridge. (As used herein, “beverage” refersto a liquid substance intended for drinking that is formed when a liquidinteracts with a beverage medium. Thus, beverage refers to a liquid thatis ready for consumption, e.g., is dispensed into a cup and ready fordrinking, as well as a liquid that will undergo other processes ortreatments, such as filtering or the addition of flavorings, creamer,sweeteners, another beverage, etc., before being consumed.) To introduceliquid into the cartridge, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a portion ofthe lid 38 generally circumscribed by the periphery 32 may be pierced byan inlet piercing element 50 (e.g., a needle) so that water or otherliquid may be injected into the cartridge 10. Other inlet piercingarrangements are possible, such as multiple needles, a shower head, anon-hollow needle, a cone, a pyramid, a knife, a blade, etc. A beveragemachine that uses the cartridge may include multiple piercing elementsof the same type or of different types, as the invention is not limitedin this respect. In another arrangement, a beverage machine may includea piercing element (such as a spike) that forms an opening andthereafter a second inlet element (such as a tube) may pass through theformed hole to introduce liquid into (or conduct liquid out of) thecontainer. In other embodiments, the lid 38 may be pierced, or otherwiseeffectively opened for flow, by introducing pressure at an exterior ofthe lid 38. For example, a water inlet may be pressed and sealed to thelid 38 exterior and water pressure introduced at the site. The waterpressure may cause the lid 38 to be pierced or otherwise opened to allowflow into the cartridge 10. In another arrangement, the lid 38 mayinclude a valve, conduit or other structure that opens when exposed to asuitable pressure and/or when mated with a water inlet tube or otherstructure.

The cartridge 10 may also be penetrated by an outlet piercing element 52(e.g., a needle) at a bottom 16 of the container 12, or at a secondportion of the lid 38 outside of the periphery 32 and apart from theinlet opening. As with the inlet piercing arrangement, the outletpiercing arrangement may be varied in any suitable way. Thus, the outletpiercing element 52 may include one or more hollow or solid needles,knives, blades, tubes, and so on. Alternately, the cartridge 10 mayinclude a valve, septum or other element that opens to permit beverageto exit when liquid is introduced into the cartridge, but otherwiseremains closed (e.g., to protect the beverage medium from externalconditions such as oxygen, moisture or others). In such a case, nopiercing element for forming the outlet opening is necessarily requiredalthough may be used, e.g., to allow the valve or other element to open.Also, in this illustrative embodiment the piercing element 52 remains inplace to receive beverage as it exits the opening formed in thecontainer 12 or lid 38. However, in other embodiments, the piercingelement 52 may withdraw after forming an opening, allowing beverage toexit the opening and be received without the piercing element 52 beingextended into the cartridge 10.

In another aspect of the invention, the cartridge may include an elementthat helps to distribute liquid that is introduced into the cartridge tothe beverage medium and/or that helps resist contact of a fluid inletwith the beverage medium. In the illustrative embodiment shown in FIGS.1-3, the cartridge includes a flow distributor 33 that is positionedbetween the inlet 50 and the beverage medium 20. In this embodiment, theflow distributor 33 functions to help incoming water or other liquidmore evenly wet the beverage medium 20 as well as help resist contact ofthe inlet 50 with the beverage medium. Of course, the performance ofboth functions is not required, e.g., the flow distributor 33 mayinfluence the flow of liquid into the cartridge, but not resist contactof beverage media with the inlet. More even wetting of the beveragemedium 20 or other flow control can help the cartridge produce a desiredbeverage, e.g., by more completely dissolving materials in the beveragemedium 20, by improving extraction of soluble and insoluble substancesfrom the beverage medium 20, by improving flow of beverage through thefilter, and so on. Reducing contact of the beverage medium 20 with theinlet 50 can help reduce the likelihood of clogging of the inlet and/orleaving a portion of the beverage medium on the inlet 50 (which may havean affect on the taste of a next beverage made when the inlet 50 piercesa different cartridge having a different type of beverage medium).

In this illustrative embodiment, the flow distributor 33 is formed of apermeable material, such as a filter paper, that is attached to the lid38 at a location within the periphery 32. Thus, the flow distributor 33can help prevent the streaming of incoming liquid in a single direction(or two or more specific directions) that might cause the liquid to“tunnel” through the beverage medium 20. Such “tunneling” can cause ashort circuit where liquid does not sufficiently interact with thebeverage medium 20, resulting in an unacceptably weak product. The flowdistributor 33 may take other forms, however, such as a perforated discplaced on the beverage medium 20, a piece of filter paper placed on thebeverage medium 20, and others. Thus, the flow distributor 33 need notbe attached to the lid 38 or the filter 30, but instead may be simplyplaced in the first chamber with the beverage medium 20. In addition, oralternately, the inlet needle 50 or other fluid inlet may be arranged tohelp distribute water or other liquid, e.g., by directing multiplestreams in several different directions across the beverage medium, andso on. The flow distributor 33 may be arranged to be contacted by theinlet needle 50, or to avoid contact with the needle 50. If the flowdistributor 33 contacts the needle 50, is may include materials that aresufficiently tough and/or sufficiently rigid to reduce damage to theflow distributor 33 by the inlet needle 50. Non-limiting examples ofsuch a material include: a material that is flexible, but tough; amaterial that is rigid, but brittle; a material that is stretchable orresilient, but tear resistant; a material that is tough and rigid, etc.

Another aspect of the invention relates to the formation of a beverageusing a cartridge like that described above and/or having similarfeatures. As discussed above, the cartridge may take a variety ofdifferent arrangements, but in this illustrative embodiment has the samegeneral form as that shown in FIGS. 1-3. The cartridge may be used witha suitable beverage machine, such as any one that is capable ofintroducing chilled, carbonated and/or heated water into the cartridgeand receiving a formed beverage from the cartridge. In one aspect of theinvention, a cartridge may be used to form a beverage while thecartridge is positioned with the lid 38 below the container 12, as showngenerally in FIG. 4. Although the cartridge 10 could be used with thelid 38 (or a portion of the lid) lying in a horizontal plane or avertical plane, one aspect of the invention positions the lid 38 in aplane that is transverse to the horizontal plane, e.g., in a plane thatis at an angle θ of about 20 to 70 degrees to the horizontal plane. Thisorientation may provide several advantages including enabling morecomplete wetting of the beverage medium and/or more complete draining ofbeverage from the cartridge. The orientation shown in FIG. 4 may enablebetter wetting or other interaction of liquid introduced into thecartridge with the beverage medium 20 because the liquid may be able to“flood” the interior space of the cartridge 10, e.g., fill the firstchamber 14 a and at least part of the second chamber 14 b with liquidsuch that all or most of the beverage medium 20 is saturated with theliquid. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, thecartridge 10 may be provided with a vent that is separate from thebeverage outlet that permits the release of gas from the cartridge as itis filled with liquid. The vent may be provided by a one-way valve(e.g., a septum, duck bill valve, or other) that is attached to the lid38 or container 12 and opens in response to increased pressure in thecartridge 10, may be provided by a piercing element 54 that pierces thelid 38 (as shown in FIG. 4) or container 12 to allow gas and/or liquidto escape, and other arrangements. (Although the element 54 is describedas providing a vent for the cartridge 10, the element 54 may provideother functions in addition, or in the alternate, to venting thecartridge. For example, the element 54 may provide an alternate liquidinflow and/or outflow path, and/or may be used to introduce air pressureinto the cartridge 10, e.g., to help purge the cartridge 10 of anyremaining beverage at the end of a beverage creation cycle. Also,although the element 54 is shown as a single piercing needle, theelement 54 may be arranged in other ways like the inlet and outletelements 50 and 52. For example, the element 54 may include one or moreblades, tubes, knives, solid or hollow needles, and so on to provideventing, liquid inlet or outlet, and/or purging functions.)

Having the lid 38 in a plane transverse to the horizontal may also allowfor better draining of beverage from the cartridge 10. That is, sincethe cartridge 10 is tilted so that one side of the cartridge is lowerthan the other, beverage may tend to drain to the lowered side of thecartridge. Also, the beverage outlet opening may be formed at or nearthis lowered side so that all or most of any liquid in the cartridge 10can be removed. This feature may provide at least two benefits includingreduced dripping or unwanted leakage of liquid when a user removes thecartridge from the beverage machine and/or more complete and efficientusage of the beverage medium since little or no beverage would be leftin the cartridge.

Although the embodiments described above include a beverage medium 20only in the first chamber 14 a, those embodiments may include a beveragemedium (either the same or different as that in the first chamber 14 a)in the second chamber 14 b or other portions of the cartridge. Forexample, a cartridge may include roast and ground coffee in the firstchamber 14 b, and a creamer and sweetener in the second chamber 14 b,enabling the cartridge to form a cappuccino- or latte-like beverage. Inanother embodiment, the first chamber 14 a may include coffee groundsand the second chamber 14 b may include a hot chocolate material,allowing the cartridge to form a mocha-type beverage. Other combinationswill occur to those of skill in the art, such as leaf tea in the firstchamber and a dried fruit material in the second chamber, a dried fruitmaterial in the first chamber and creamer/sweetener in the secondchamber, and so on. In some embodiments, another filter may be provided,e.g., to separate beverage media in the second chamber from the fluidoutlet. For example, a filter may be attached to the lid 38 in an areawhere an outlet needle pierces the lid 38 to allow beverage to exit thecartridge, but only after passing through the additional filter.

As mentioned above, aspects of the invention may be implemented incartridges having different shapes, sizes and/or configurations. Forexample, FIG. 5 shows an illustrative embodiment of a cartridge 10 thatincludes a relatively rigid or stiff rim 19 (e.g., including an annularshaped element made of a plastic material) attached to a container 12made of a relatively flexible material (e.g., a thin polymer sheetmaterial). Attached to a top surface of the rim 19 is a lid 38 andfilter 30, which may be arranged like that in the FIGS. 1-3 embodiment.That is, the lid 38 may also be made of a relatively flexible material(such as a foil sheet) and carry a filter 30 made of a filter paper thatis attached to the lid 38 at a periphery 32 that is spaced inwardly fromthe rim 19. A beverage medium 20 (not shown) may be contained inside thefilter 30 (and/or outside of the filter in the container 12), and anoptional flow distributor 33 (not shown) may be provided if desired.This embodiment may provide advantages such as reduced weight andmaterial use, e.g., because of the smaller amount of material used forthe container 12. Also, to the extent that the cartridge 10 requiresstructural support (e.g., to enable proper piercing of the lid 38 forinlet and outlet openings) the rim 19 may provide the needed supportwithout assistance from the container 12. Thus, the FIG. 5 cartridge maybe capable of being used in an orientation like that shown in FIG. 4,and the lid 38 and filter 30 may be removed from the rim 19 and thecontainer 12 (e.g., by peeling), if desired.

FIG. 6 shows another illustrative embodiment of a cartridge 10 thatincorporates aspects of the invention. In this embodiment, the cartridge10 includes a lid 38 (e.g., like that described above including a sheetof foil/polymer laminate) that is attached to a filter 30 at a periphery32. However, in this embodiment, the filter 30 includes an impermeablecylindrical member 34 that extends from the lid 38 and a permeablefilter paper 35 that is attached at a bottom of the cylindrical member34. The lid 38 and filter 30 are associated with the rim 19 andcontainer 12, e.g., by bonding the lid 38 to the rim 19, so that thefilter 30 is located in an interior space of the container 12. Thecontainer 12 may have any suitable form, e.g., may include a cup-shapedmember formed of a molded plastic material. A beverage medium 20 may belocated in the cylindrical member 34 so that when liquid is introducedinto the cylindrical member 34, beverage may pass through the filterpaper 35. Alternately, a beverage medium 20 may be provided in thecontainer 12 and outside of the filter 30. In this case, the filter 30may help prevent contact of the beverage medium 20 with a liquid inletand/or help maintain the beverage medium 20 in a particularconfiguration in the cartridge, e.g., help keep the beverage medium 20compacted against the sidewall and bottom of the container 12. Where abeverage medium 20 is located outside of the filter 30, water or otherliquid may be introduced into the cartridge from an area outside of thefilter 30 (e.g., into the second chamber 14 b from a portion of the lid38 outside of the periphery 32), and beverage may exit the cartridgefrom an area inside of the filter 30 (e.g., from the first chamber 14 avia an opening in the lid 38 inside of the periphery 32).

This embodiment helps to illustrate that the filter 30 may be made oftwo or more components and may include impermeable as well as permeableportions. The impermeable portions may help to direct liquid to flow indesired ways, e.g., in the case of FIG. 6 so that liquid introduced viaan opening in the lid 38 must travel along the length of the cylindricalmember 34 before exiting through the filter paper 35. In anotherembodiment, the cylindrical member 34 may be made permeable and thefilter paper 35 made impermeable so that liquid flows through thecylindrical member 34 only. In another embodiment, one or more portionsof the cylindrical member 34 may be made impermeable (e.g., acylindrically-shaped band near the lid 38 may be impermeable) and one ormore other portions may be made permeable (e.g., a cylindrically-shapedband near the filter paper 35 may be permeable). Of course, these areonly a few illustrative embodiments, and other arrangements arepossible. For example, the shape, size or configuration of thecylindrical member 34 may be altered, e.g., to be rectangular,triangular, frustoconical, spherical or other shapes. Also, the filterpaper 35 may have any shape, size or configuration, e.g., need not beflat and circular, and may be replaced with another permeable element,such as a perforated plastic disc. In short, the filter 30 may bearranged in any suitable way.

FIG. 7 shows another illustrative embodiment of a cartridge 10 with arectangular shape. In this embodiment, the container 12 is shaped like arectangular box and has a rectangularly shaped rim 19. The lid 38 andfilter 30 (which also has a rectangular box shape) are attached to therim 19 in a way similar to that described above. This embodimentillustrates that aspects of the invention are not limited to round orcircular shapes for the rim 19 and/or other cartridge components. To thecontrary, any irregular or other suitable shape for the cartridgecomponents is possible. For example, FIG. 8 shows an embodiment of acartridge 10 having a rim 19 and container 12 that form a cup shapehaving a spout-like feature. The lid 38 may have a corresponding shape,and may be arranged so that an outlet opening can be formed in the lid38 in the spout area of the rim 19 and container 12. This may help withdraining of beverage from the container 12, e.g., since with properorientation of the cartridge, beverage may tend to drain into the spoutarea. The spout feature or other irregular shape may also provide anindexing or positioning feature that helps to ensure that the cartridge10 is associated with a beverage machine in a particular way. Forexample, the cartridge shown in FIG. 8 may be used in an orientationlike that shown in FIG. 4 where the spout feature is located at or nearthe outlet 52. Since the spout can be used to ensure that the cartridgeis positioned with the spout at or near the outlet 52, the spout canhelp in draining beverage from the cartridge to the outlet 52. Using thespout or other indexing feature to ensure cartridge orientation may alsohelp if the cartridge 10 includes readable features, such as a barcode,RFID tag, or other machine readable code. That is, the spout may helpensure the cartridge is rotationally positioned in a particular locationso that the readable feature(s) can be properly read by the machine. Thespout feature (or other suitable arrangement) may also provide aconvenient place for a pull tab to be located for the lid 38 so that thelid 38 and filter 30 may be removed from the rim 19, e.g., by peelingthe lid 38 from the rim 19.

FIG. 9 shows yet another illustrative embodiment of a cartridge 10 inwhich the lid 38 includes two components. Specifically, the lid 38includes an outer portion 38 a that is attached to the rim 19 and aninner portion 38 b that is attached to the outer portion 38 a (e.g.,after a beverage medium is provided into a space defined by the filter30). This embodiment may provide an advantage of allowing at least aportion of the lid to be attached to the rim 19 and the container 12prior to placement of beverage media 20 into the cartridge 10. That is,the outer portion 38 a of the lid 38 may be attached to the rim 19 withthe filter 30 attached to the outer portion 38 a, but without the innerportion 38 b of the lid 38 in place. Thereafter, beverage media 20 maybe provided through the opening in the outer portion 38 a and the innerportion 38 b attached to the outer portion 38 a so as to close theopening. The outer portion 38 a and the inner portion 38 b may be madeof different materials, e.g., the outer portion 38 a may be made of arelatively thick and stiff plastic material and the inner portion 38 bmay be made of a relatively thin and flexible foil material. In thiscase, the outer portion 38 a may provide structure for the cartridge 10,allowing the rim 19 to be made of a relatively flexible and/or thinmaterial, e.g., the rim 19 may be a portion of the container 12 that isbonded to the outer portion 38 a where the container 12 is made of athin polymer sheet material.

Cartridges in accordance with aspects of the invention may be used withany suitable beverage machine. For example, FIG. 10 shows a perspectiveview of a beverage forming apparatus 100 that may be used to form anysuitable beverage, such as tea, coffee, other infusion-type beverages,beverages formed from a liquid or powdered concentrate, hot or colddrinks, etc. In this illustrative embodiment, the apparatus 100 includesan outer frame or housing 6 with a user interface 8 that the user mayoperate to control various features of the apparatus 100. A beveragecartridge 10 may be provided to the apparatus 100 and used to form abeverage that is deposited into a cup or other suitable receptacle thatis placed on a drip tray 9 or other support, if any. The cartridge 10may be manually or automatically placed in a cartridge receiving portiondefined by first and second portions 3 and 4 of the beverage formingapparatus 100. For example, by lifting a handle 5, the user may move thefirst and second portions 3 and 4 to an open position to expose asuitably shaped area in which the cartridge 10 may be placed. Afterplacement of the cartridge 10, a handle 5 or other actuator may be movedin a manual or automatic fashion so as to move the first and secondportions 3 and 4 to a closed position (shown in FIG. 10), thereby atleast partially enclosing the cartridge 10 within a brew chamber. Itshould be understood, however, that the cartridge 10 may be received inany suitable way by the apparatus 100, as the way in which the apparatus100 receives or otherwise uses the cartridge 10 is not critical toaspects of the invention.

Once the cartridge 10 is received, the beverage forming apparatus 100may use the cartridge 10 to form a beverage. For example, one or moreinlet needles 50 (see FIG. 3 or 4) associated with the first or secondportion 3, 4 may pierce the cartridge 10 so as to inject heated water orother liquid into the cartridge 10. The first or second portion 3, 4 mayalso include one or more outlet needles or other elements 52 to punctureor pierce the cartridge 10 (as needed) at an outlet side to permit theformed beverage to exit the cartridge 10.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic diagram of a brew chamber arrangement that maybe used in the beverage forming apparatus 100. In this illustrativeembodiment, the first portion 3 includes a clamp 21 that is movablerelative to a cartridge receiver 22. The second portion 4 includes abase 51 that is also movable relative to the cartridge receiver 22 andcarries inlet and outlet needles 50 and 52. To enclose a cartridge 10 inthe brew chamber, the cartridge 10 is first placed into the cartridgereceiver 22 so the cartridge is held stationary by the receiver 22. Inthis embodiment, the receiver 22 includes a groove that engages with therim 19 of the cartridge 10, but the receiver 22 may hold the cartridgein other ways, such as by engaging the container 12. Thereafter, theclamp 21 and the base 51 are moved toward the cartridge receiver 22 sothat the clamp 21 engages with the rim 19 of the cartridge 10 andpresses the rim 19 into contact with the base 51. This engagement mayhelp form a seal between the base 51 and the rim 19 and the lid 38,e.g., to help prevent leaking of liquid from the inlet or outlet needles50 and 52. Pressing the rim 19/lid 38 into contact with the base 51 mayalso cause the needles 50 and 52 to pierce the lid 38 to form inlet andoutlet openings. With the cartridge suitably held, water or other liquidmay be introduced into the cartridge 10 by the inlet needle 50 andbeverage received from the cartridge by the outlet needle 52.

Those of skill in the art should appreciate that various modificationsto this illustrative brew chamber arrangement may be made. For example,the base 51 may carry two or more inlet or outlet needles 50 and 52, theneedles 50 and 52 may be replaced with knives, blades, conicalstructures, one or more tubes, openings in the base 51 for inlet/outletflow and/or any other suitable inlet and outlet arrangement, thepiercing elements (if provided) may be made retractable with respect tothe base, the base 51 may be made to remain stationary and the cartridgemoved relative to the base 51, and so on. Similarly, the clamp 21 mayhave any suitable shape other than a ring-like shape shown, e.g., theclamp 21 may have a cup-like shape, the clamp 21 may be made stationaryand the cartridge 10 and/or the base 51 moved relative to the clamp 21,the clamp 21 and the cartridge retainer 22 may be integrated together,and others. Also, although in this embodiment the cartridge retainer 22holds the cartridge 10 in an inverted orientation with the lid 38 belowthe container 12 (like that in FIG. 4) the cartridge may be used to makea beverage in any suitable orientation.

FIG. 12 shows a schematic block diagram of various components includedin a beverage forming apparatus 100 in one illustrative embodiment, suchas that in FIG. 10. Those of skill in the art will appreciate that abeverage forming apparatus 100 may be configured in a variety ofdifferent ways, and thus aspects of the invention should not be narrowlyinterpreted as relating only to one type of beverage forming apparatus.Water or other liquid from a storage tank 110 may be provided via asupply conduit 111 to a pump 112 (such as a centrifugal pump, pistonpump, solenoid pump, etc.), which pumps the liquid via a pump conduit115 to a metering tank or chamber 118. Operation of the water pump 112and other components of the apparatus 100 may be controlled by acontroller 130, e.g., including a programmed processor and/or other dataprocessing device along with suitable software or other operatinginstructions, one or more memories (including non-transient storagemedia that may store software and/or other operating instructions),temperature and liquid level sensors, pressure sensors, input/outputinterfaces, communication buses or other links, a display, switches,relays, triacs, or other components necessary to perform desiredinput/output or other functions. The metering tank 118 may be filledwith a desired amount of liquid by any suitable technique, such asrunning the pump 112 for a predetermined time, sensing a water level inthe metering tank 118 using a conductive probe sensor or capacitivesensor, detecting a pressure rise in metering tank 118 when the liquidfills the tank, or using any other viable technique. For example, thecontroller 130 may detect that the metering tank 118 is completelyfilled when a pressure sensor detects a rise in pressure indicating thatthe water has reached the top of the metering tank 118. Water in thetank may be heated, if desired, by way of a heating element 123 whoseoperation is controlled by the controller 130 using input from atemperature sensor or other suitable input. Water in the metering tank118 may be dispensed via a metering tank conduit 119 to a brew chamber120 or other beverage forming station. The brew chamber 120 may includeany beverage making ingredient, such as ground coffee, tea, a flavoreddrink mix, or other substance, e.g., contained in a cartridge 10. Liquidmay be discharged from the metering tank 118 by pressurizing themetering tank with air provided by an air pump 121 that causes theliquid to be discharged out of a tube 117 and into the metering tankconduit 119. Completion of the dispensing from the metering tank 118 maybe detected in any suitable way, such as by detecting a pressure drop inthe metering tank 118, by detecting a water level change in the meteringtank 118, use of a flow meter, or using any other viable techniques.Liquid may alternately be discharged from the metering tank 118 by thepump 112 operating to force additional liquid into the tank 118, therebydisplacing water out of the tank 118 and to the brew chamber. A flowsensor or other suitable device may be used to determine the amount ofliquid delivered to the tank 118, and thus the amount of liquiddelivered to the brew chamber. Alternately, the pump 12 may be apiston-type or metering pump such that a known volume of liquid may bedelivered from the pump 112 to the tank 118, thus causing the same knownvolume to be delivered to the brew chamber 120. Liquid may be introducedinto the cartridge 10 at any suitable pressure, e.g., 1-2 psi or higher.

Another aspect of the invention includes a method of manufacturing acartridge. Steps of one such illustrative method are shown in FIG. 13.(The steps in FIGS. 13 and 14 are shown connected in dashed line so asto indicate that the steps of the method may be performed differentorders other than that shown, as described in more detail below.) Instep S10, a container having an interior space and a rim defining anopening into the interior space is provided. The container may be madeof any suitable material, such as plastic, paper, metal and combinationsof materials. Generally, the container is impermeable to liquid so thatbeverage created in the cartridge can be removed in a controlled way,but may have permeable portions. Also, the container may have anysuitable shape, such as frustoconical, spherical, cylindrical, arectangular box, and so on. Moreover, the container need not have adefined shape, and instead may be made of a flexible material.

In step S20, a filter is attached to a lid at a periphery. The peripheryis a closed boundary line where the filter is attached to the lid andextends away from the lid (e.g., into an interior space of thecontainer). The filter may include any suitable material, such as filterpaper, permeable or impermeable plastic material, a sponge likematerial, and so on. Also, the filter may include impermeable as well aspermeable elements. For example, an impermeable plastic element may beattached to the lid and provide structural support for a filter paper orother material that is attached to the plastic element. The filter canhave any suitable shape, size and/or permeability. For example, thefilter may have areas of different permeability so as to prevent orrestrict flow through some areas of the filter while facilitating flowthrough other, more permeable areas. Generally, the filter is unattachedto the container, e.g., so that the filter and lid can be removed fromthe container for recycling and/or composting purposes. However, in someembodiments the filter may be attached to the rim, e.g., a portion ofthe filter may be sandwiched between the lid and the rim.

In step S30, the lid is attached to the rim (e.g., to at least partiallyto close the opening) and such that the periphery is spaced away fromthe rim and the filter extends from the periphery into the interiorspace. The filter may be arranged to separate a first chamber from asecond chamber in the interior space. The lid may be attached to the rimin any suitable way, such as thermal or acoustic welding, adhesive,chemical bonding, mechanical bonding, and so on. In some embodiments,the rim may include a groove or other feature that assists in removal ofthe lid from the rim. The lid may be made of any suitable material, suchas a foil, a foil and polymer laminate, a polymer material, and so on,and may be permeable or impermeable. However, the lid generally is madeof an impermeable material so as to aid in controlling the flow ofliquid in the cartridge.

In step S40, a beverage medium is provided in the interior space of thecartridge, e.g., into a first chamber that is separated from a secondchamber by the filter. The beverage medium may be arranged to interactwith liquid introduced into the container to form a beverage, and mayinclude roast and ground coffee, leaf tea, instant coffee or tea, hotchocolate mix, a powdered drink mix, dried fruit materials, sweetener,creamer, thickener, and/or any other suitable material for forming abeverage.

It should be understood that steps in the method outlined in FIG. 13 maybe performed in any suitable order. For example, in one embodiment, thebeverage medium may be provided in a space defined by the filter beforethe filter is attached to the lid. In another embodiment, the beveragemedium may be provided into a space defined by the filter after thefilter is attached to the lid. For example, the lid may be attached tothe lid and the beverage medium provided into a space defined by thefilter through an opening in the filter. Thereafter, the opening in thefilter may be closed, e.g., by sealing edges of the filter around theopening to each other. In another embodiment, the filter may be attachedto the lid, e.g., like that shown in FIG. 9, and beverage mediumprovided into a space defined by the filter either before or after thelid is attached to the container rim.

Another aspect of the invention involves a method for forming abeverage, e.g., as outlined in FIG. 14. In step S50, a cartridge isprovided having a container with an interior space, a rim defining anopening to the interior space, a lid attached to the rim and closing theopening of the container, and a filter attached to the lid at aperiphery that is spaced inwardly and away from the rim. The filterextends from the periphery into the interior space and separates firstand second chambers in the interior space. A beverage medium is locatedin the interior space, e.g., in the first and/or second chamber, and isarranged to interact with liquid introduced into the container to form abeverage. As discussed above, the container, rim, lid and filter may bemade of any suitable material and in any suitable way. Similarly, thebeverage medium may include any suitable materials for forming abeverage.

In step S60, the lid is pierced, e.g., near a center of the lid and awayfrom the rim, to form a first opening to access the first chamber.Piercing of the lid may be done by inserting a needle, blade, knife orother suitable object through the lid, introducing water or otherpressure to the lid to cause the lid to rupture or a valve or otherstructure to open for flow, and so on. In step S70, liquid is introducedinto the first chamber via the first opening, e.g., by injecting heated,pressurized water through a needle that pierced the lid to form thefirst opening. Other techniques may be used to introduce liquid into thefirst chamber, such as inserting a tube through the first opening,mating an opening in a plate or other member to the lid near the firstopening, and so on.

In step S80, beverage formed by interaction of the liquid with thebeverage medium flows through the filter to the second chamber. Flow ofthe beverage through the filter may remove particulate matter from thebeverage, such as larger coffee grounds, tea leaves or other. In stepS90, the lid is pierced to form a second opening to access the secondchamber where the second opening is located nearer the rim than thefirst opening and is between the periphery and the rim. As discussedabove, a piercing element may remain engaged with the cartridge afterpiercing, or may withdraw to allow beverage to exit through the formedopening. Finally, in step S 100, the beverage is removed from thecartridge via the second opening.

The method outlined in FIG. 14 may include additional steps, such asengaging the rim with a clamping mechanism prior to introducing liquidinto the first chamber. For example, the cartridge may be engaged by abrew chamber arrangement like that in FIG. 11 such that the rim of thecartridge is clamped in place so as to reduce the likelihood of the lidbeing separated from the rim during brewing and/or to reduce thelikelihood of leakage. The lid and/or container may also be pierced toform a third opening to vent the interior space. This may be useful tohelp flood the interior space of the cartridge with liquid. Thecartridge may be positioned so that the lid is in a downward facingorientation with the container above the lid and the lid in a plane thatis transverse to a horizontal plane, e.g., like that shown in FIG. 11.The plane in which the lid is oriented may be at an angle of about 20degrees to 70 degrees to the horizontal plane, which may help thebeverage formation as discussed above. The cartridge may include a flowdistributor, e.g., attached to the lid between the lid and the beveragemedium, to help distribute liquid introduced into the cartridge in adesired way. Subsequent to beverage formation, the lid may be peeled byhand from the rim so as to remove the lid, the filter and the beveragemedium as a single unit from the container. For example, the lid mayhave a tab or other structure that may be grasped between thumb andforefinger and used to peel the lid from the rim of the cartridge. Sincethe filter and beverage medium may be attached to the lid, the filterand any remains of the beverage medium after beverage formation may beeasily removed from the container, e.g., so the container can berecycled and the beverage medium remains and filter composted.

Also, the steps in the method outlined in FIG. 14 may be performed inorders different than that shown in FIG. 14. For example, steps S60 andS90 may be performed simultaneously, or step S90 may be performed beforestep S60.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of thisinvention, it is to be appreciated that various alterations,modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled inthe art. Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intendedto be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spiritand scope of the invention. Accordingly, the foregoing description anddrawings are by way of example only.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for forming a beverage, comprising:providing a cartridge having a container with an interior space havingfirst and second chambers, a rim defining an opening to the interiorspace, a lid attached to the rim and closing the opening of thecontainer, a filter attached to the lid at a periphery that is spacedinwardly and away from the rim, the filter extending from the peripheryinto the interior space and separating the first and second chambers,the filter being otherwise unattached to the container, and a beveragemedium in the interior space that is arranged to interact with liquidintroduced into the container to form a beverage; piercing the lid neara center of the lid and away from the rim to form a first opening toaccess the first chamber; introducing liquid into the first chamber viathe first opening; forming a beverage by interaction of the liquid withthe beverage medium; piercing the lid to form a second opening to accessthe second chamber, the second opening being located nearer the rim thanthe first opening and between the periphery and the rim; and removingthe beverage from the cartridge via the second opening.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: engaging the rim with a clamping mechanismprior to introducing liquid into the first chamber.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: piercing the lid to form a third opening tovent the interior space.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the lidincludes a foil and is more easily pierced than the container.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the second opening is formed in an annularportion of the lid between the periphery and the rim.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the beverage medium is located in the first chamber,and the step of introducing comprises: passing liquid through a flowdistributor into a portion of the first chamber where the beveragemedium is located.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the flowdistributor is attached to the lid in the interior space.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein the beverage medium is located in the secondchamber, the method further comprising forming a beverage in the secondchamber that interacts with liquid flowing from the first chamber to thesecond chamber.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein the beverage medium islocated in the first chamber, the method further comprising: peeling thelid by hand from the rim so as to remove the lid, the filter and thebeverage medium as a single unit from the container.
 10. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the beverage medium is located in the first chamber,the method further comprising: flowing beverage formed by interaction ofthe liquid with the beverage medium through the filter to the secondchamber.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the lid consists of a sheetof flexible material.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the sheet offlexible material is a foil and polymer laminate.
 13. A method forforming a beverage, comprising: providing a cartridge having a containerwith an interior space having first and second chambers, a rim definingan opening to the interior space, a lid attached to the rim and closingthe opening of the container, a filter attached to the lid and extendinginto the interior space and separating the first and second chambers,and a beverage medium in the interior space that is arranged to interactwith liquid introduced into the container to form a beverage; piercingthe lid near a center of the lid and away from the rim to form a firstopening to access the first chamber, piercing of the lid to form thefirst opening being done with the lid positioned above the container;introducing liquid into the first chamber via the first opening; forminga beverage by interaction of the liquid with the beverage medium;piercing the lid to form a second opening to access the second chamber,the second opening being located nearer the rim than the first opening,piercing of the lid to form the second opening being done with the lidpositioned above the container; and removing the beverage from thecartridge via the second opening.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereinthe beverage medium is located in the first chamber, and the step ofintroducing comprises: passing liquid through a flow distributor into aportion of the first chamber where the beverage medium is located. 15.The method of claim 14, wherein the flow distributor is attached to thelid in the interior space.
 16. The method of claim 13, wherein thebeverage medium is located in the second chamber, the method furthercomprising forming a beverage in the second chamber that interacts withliquid flowing from the first chamber to the second chamber.
 17. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the beverage medium is located in the firstchamber, the method further comprising: peeling the lid by hand from therim so as to remove the lid, the filter and the beverage medium as asingle unit from the container.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein thebeverage medium is located in the first chamber, the method furthercomprising: flowing beverage formed by interaction of the liquid withthe beverage medium through the filter to the second chamber.
 19. Themethod of claim 13, wherein the lid consists of a sheet of flexiblematerial.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein the sheet of flexiblematerial is a foil and polymer laminate.